Agrath Stonestool
"My name is Agrath, Duergar lord of the distant mountains. I believe a man is entitled to the sweat of his brow, as long as that man is me and my brow is your coin purses! Hehehe." - Agrath's introduction in the Tale of the Adorned Hand Agrath Stonestool was a Duergar fighter known for his smoldering temper and skill at arm. Agrath was a member of the adorned hand late in life and bore the ring of the Steward until his death. History Life in the Mine Before his time as an adventurer Agrath married and constructed a mine within the Shatterspike Mountains. The goblins nearby did not take kindly to Agrath's incursion into their lands but never meddled with his business. Agrath enjoyed a rich and relatively happy life at this time and his mine was successful in digging up rare gemstones which Agrath sold to traders from the Noble States who passed nearby. He fathered two sons, Agger and Aggson, the two soon grew into men as grim and serious as their father. Ultimately Agrath's good fortune came to an end when his mine was destroyed. A pack of goblins had noticed the wealth that was being extracted from the mine and payed off one of Agrath's workers to plant explosives with plans to kill Agrath and his family in the blast and then re-excavate the mine later. When the bombs went off Agrath, his family and his workers were in the middle of a days work. The blast caused a cave in, burying them all under falling rocks. When the dust cleared only Agrath survived. He managed to escape the collapsed mine but lost his left arm in the process. Agrath mourned for his wife, for his sons, for his arm and most of all for his mine. The Adorned Hand Agrath took to spending his time brooding in darkened inn corners and it was in one of these corners that he received a letter from the Guide. Inside Agrath found a message and a strange ring. With nothing much left to to live for Agrath donned the ring, purchased a suit of plate and a sharp axe then headed towards Sang City. Death Agrath met his maker in the deserts of Vhir. After saving the city of Zel'Arven from an eternal prison in time, Agrath suddenly began to age and wither during the return journey to Okarthel. Agrath's ring fell from his finger and attached itself to the wizard Seibold who had came upon the party from out of nowhere, in the middle of the desert and for no reason. Thus passed Agrath Stonestool, last of his line. Agrath found some semblance of a legacy as a part of the play penned by Lucius Hightower, The Tale of the Adorned Hand. Lifespan By far the most puzzling aspect of Agrath's life and the one that has drawn the most attention from scholars, was his incredibly long lifespan. Other than Agrath, no Dwarf or Duergar has ever been recorded as having naturally lived more than a couple of years past their fourth centenary but based on reliable records from both his time as an adventurer and as a businessman, Agrath can be shown to have lived for over 700 years. Some attribute this to the magics of either the Guide or the Steward although this explanation is surely false as Agrath has already far, far outlived any other member of his race by hundreds of years by the time he even came into possession of the Steward's ring. Category:Characters Category:Duergar